Weekly roundup: Top international development headlines

Deadly measles outbreak in DR Congo, access to information and telecommunication technology in rural areas and strengthening women’s livelihoods in Viet Nam. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:

More international support needed to curb deadly measles outbreak in DR Congo

Countries are being asked to step up assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which is facing the world’s worst measles epidemic, with more than 6,000 deaths since the start of last year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said some 310,000 suspected cases of the disease have been reported since then.

The UN agency and its partners have worked with the authorities to vaccinate more than 18 million children under five during 2019. However, coverage remains low in some areas, with under-fives accounting for a quarter of cases.

“We are doing our utmost to bring this epidemic under control. Yet to be truly successful we must ensure that no child faces the unnecessary risk of death from a disease that is easily preventable by a vaccine”, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

Nearly 15,000 people in rural areas will have access to information and telecommunication technology

LuxDev, the bilateral development agency of the Government of Luxembourg and Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), a Myanmar government entity signed an agreement for the purchase, turnkey building, installation and future operation of three Telecom towers in the Township of Keng Tung.

The agreement, which lists required services in the form of basic data and voice communications, is part of a series of parallel interventions adopting a holistic approach towards rural development and inclusion in three designated target areas in Eastern Shan Stage. The area where the services will be delivered from mid-2020 onwards includes almost 15,000 beneficiaries and is situated to the south-west of Keng Tung city (Nam Khat, Nam Inn, Nar Paw, Ming Inn and Naung Taun – commonly referred to as the “5 Tracts”).

The two objectives of the Eastern Shan State Rural Development and Inclusion Project – MYA/002 are to improve the means and resources for the legal livelihood activities of the local communities and to promote interaction, interdependence, cooperation and capacity in the community’s development of participatory governance.

Strengthening women’s livelihoods and resilience to disasters and climate change in Viet Nam

In the little commune of Hoa Dong in Phu Yen province, just south of Viet Nam’s capital, Ha Noi, villagers had planted rice for generations. However, with the changing weather patterns in recent years, millions of people have been affected in Phu Yen and in rural Viet Nam in general and people have started looking for new livelihoods.

With UN Women’s support, farmers were trained in new skills to plant lotus following the standards of VietGAP (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices). They also learned about the market, business and skills to build a strong brand for their products.

Mrs. Dang Thi Hong Nga, Chairperson of the Phu Yen Women’s Union said, “The project not only brings new opportunities for local women to increase their resilience to disasters in a sustainable way, more importantly, but they can also fully participate in the decision-making process throughout the project implementation. Before this project, we tried different livelihood models but did not have this level of success. In September, the lotus fields became the first lotus model in Phu Yen to receive the VietGAP certificate, which will open more opportunities for rural women to earn higher incomes.”

Here’s what else has happened

Sweden: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of SEK 20 million (US$2 million) from the Government of Sweden to help meet the food and nutrition needs of people affected by the drought in Zambia.

United States: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a US$3.39 million contribution from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help meet the immediate food needs of drought-affected people in Zambia.

Polio: The spread of polio internationally remains a global public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva have concluded. The opinion comes in a released statement, following the latest meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) that provides technical advice on international public health emergencies.

Events

UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020

London, UK
20 January 2020

The UK Department for International Development together with the Department for International Trade and Foreign & Commonwealth Office will be hosting this year’s Africa Investment Summit in London.

The Summit will be hosted by the Prime Minister and will bring together businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa.

2020 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund

Washington, D.C. USA
13-19 April 2020

The Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) and the bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.